Connecticut western news., 1887-05-25
A STOLEN RIDE,

we taiked 10 you until I'm tired, Cornelia Ann!' said Mrs. Boxwood,
 Cornelia Ann thought that that might very possibly be. Ms. Boxwood had frequently talked to her, until she Cor ne!ia Ann, as we'll as tho old lady-was tired also. And she knew likewise that when Mrs. Boxwoed called her "Cornelia Ann," instead of "Conny," she was very angry indeed.
 I didn't mean any harm, aunty," murmurcd Cornelia Ann, hanging down her head.
 l" echoed Mrs. Boxwood. "And you girls dressing up pumpkin-headed ghost to frighten Deacon Hubbard, at the end of the lane, and filling old Mrs. Higgins bonnet with burdock burrs. and putting an old almanac inside Elder Hopgood's sermon cover, SO that when he opened it to begin preachin' he was clean f1ambergasted out of his senses ;"
 ''Well, but aunty," argued the cul- prit, "he said that Lulu and I were lost wretches and would certainly be cast into perdition. He hadn't any business to say thatl And Mrs. Higgins told you that Lulu and I helped the boys to lock out the schoo.ma' am, and it wasn't true. We hadn't a thing to do with it. It's bad enough to be blamed for the mischief that we do, without any addi- tional accusation," she added with a pout "And hope--yes, I do hope that she had an awful time getting the burrs out of her old tow-colored wig! As for Deacon Hubbard, we all know that he says that there isn't a.y such thing as ghosts; so why need he be afraid of pumpkin on the end of pole, with white sheet wrapped around lta And Pm afraid, aunty," she added, with roguish sparkle in her eyes, 'that he's coming here to carry you off! And, for all you scold at us so much, Lulu and don't want to lose your'
 ''La, chill," said Mrs. Boxwood, highly fattered. q never thought O such thingl ain't going to change my widowed condition st my time O life, not for all the deacons goingl But am surprised, Conny-"
 At this stage of affairs, however, Mrs. Boxwood was called away, and Conny made her rejoicing escape.
 COnnv Uoe pn brool f,o~> Al- ing, no double-dyed assassin, but simply awlld romp, overfowing with health and spirits, who never paused to consider whether or no she was going too far in her mad escapades or not.
 Some of the neighbors called her handsome.
 ''She has cheeks like an apple-blo son." said Mrs. Phillips, 'and I never did see such eyes! They're the lovliest blue, and they sparkle like diamonds when she gets to talking"
 And others pronounced her as plain as pike-staff, so that Conny really did not quite know what to think of herself.
 Squire Dana, an old friend of her father, laughed himself red in the face when he heard of her wild froiics.
 '.Let her alone," said he--'Iet her alone. She'll come out all right. It's the the most valuable Allies that gallop the hardest in pasture when they're young"
 And Elder Hopgood declared, with melancholy groan, that Cornclia Ann Boxwood was certainly on the high road to destruction if ever girl was.
 On this particular day Conny went out with sigh of relief.
 The level, crimson sun seemed to rest a moment on the top of the western woods before disappearing.
 'It's very hard to be scoldcd all the time," said she to herself. 'T will have little walk to rest myself from Aunt Boxwood's household cares and labors. and the stocking alarming must wait nntit tomorrow"
 So Conny ran through the fragrant woods, listening for the merry ripple of the brook, and whistling back with shrill sweetness to the goodnight chirps of robin, thrush and red-winged black bird in the tree-tops, until she came to solitary farmhouse on the edge of the lake.
 It was past sunset now. The young